Beavers asking to stay free pending appeal

Michelle ManchirTribune reporter

Attorneys for former Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, who was convicted by a federal jury of failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars he took out of his campaign fund for personal use, will ask a judge Thursday to allow him to remain free on bond pending appeal.

Beavers, sentenced in September to six months in prison after being convicted of tax evasion, has an early December surrender date. But his attorneys will ask Judge James Zagel on Thursday to allow him to stay home until their appeal of the conviction is sorted out.

U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon issued a written opposition to the request on Wednesday night.

In the response, Fardon said Beavers has not met the statutory requirements for obtaining bond pending appeal.

“Defendant has not come close to meeting his burden of establishing that his appeal presents a substantial question of law or fact that is likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial,” the response states.

Attorneys are expected to argue the motion at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Beavers, also a former longtime Chicago alderman and police officer, was convicted in March of concealing his under-reporting of income and underpayment of thousands of dollars that he took from his campaign accounts between 2006 and 2008.

In addition to the prison time, he was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay more than $30,000 in restitution to the IRS by Zagel.